Forgiving Reality
by Symphony.In.The.Abyss
Summary: NaruIno Christmas Fic. There are so many times when virtual reality outmatches reality... This is the story of Blooming Cosmos and Ramen Warrior and how they fight and forgive reality in time for Christmas.
1. Chapter 1

**Forgiving Reality**

_**A/N: So here's a christmas fic for you all! I was SUPPOSED to get this up yesterday, but I didn't end up finishing it. Well I hope you all enjoy it. I was supposed to update Aishiteru but that's coming along slowly -_-. I guess I'll be behind in fic writing, and this'll probably finish by new years. Anyways, on with the show!**_

_**Also, since I didn't get to finish Aishiteru, I'll dedicate this to my beloeved friend and reviewer Stephanie 3**_

**---**

**Chapter 1: Blooming Cosmos and Ramen Warrior**

The glow of the computer screen was all that could be seen, and all that could be heard was the quick typing of none other than Naruto Uzumaki. It was only a month and a half ago that he turned 18 and received a laptop from his ex guardian Iruka Umino. Now that he was living on his own, in a small apartment, the laptop became extremely useful for communication.

See, Naruto didn't have many friends. He goes to an all boys school, senior year. only because he had to skip a grade due to a horrible fight in his freshman year. He was a little shy, but really he had a personality that can wake up the Gods. However no one really gave him a second chance. He was a little popular in his first year, but after the fight everyone just shunned him. He didn't mind, it's not like they completely ignored him. Although it was childish, there were those who were out to get him, and those who bully him because he doesn't mind being alone.

But now, now that he has his own access to a completely different world, he didn't need friends. At least, not friends in real life. For about a month now he had been on the forums of his all time favourite manga, Ninja Soul. In this month he had made a name for himself, with plenty of friends online.

He smirked and wiped his nose as he read another post on his profile. Another newbie has come for his advice and friendship.

"Why hello there, Blooming Cosmos," he greeted to himself. Clicking on he reply button, he decided to take a rest. It was 1 AM in the morning and he had some bio homework to complete.

And with a chime the laptop shut down, and so did Naruto's world. He closed the technology and turned on his lamp to pull out his homework. Aggravated, he chewed on the pencil, "Stupid homework," he muttered, lazily writing just to get it over with.

---

Ino smiled at the quick response she had gotten from Ramen Warrior. Her friend on the boards, Troublesome Fool, told her that he was the best guy to befriend for a newbie. She was very excited about her new life on the web. It was exciting keeping a double life away from reality, away from her friends and the girly pride of make up. Afterall, her obsession with Ninja Soul had to be kept a secret. There was no way in telling how much her friends would laugh if they found out.

As the clock struck 1:30 and she still hadn't gotten a reply from this Ramen Warrior, she decided to call it a night. After all, she didnt want bags under her eyes the day after. Being the beauty queen was hard work, although she did have to be thankful to her mom for the fair skin and complexion. She smiled to herself against the mirror, sure vanity was a bad thing, but life was good, and it could only get better.

B_Cosmos: I'm going to bed forehead.

C_Blossoms: Yeah yeah, g'night pig.

That was one conversation down. Sakura was her best friend who actually was openly obsessed with Ninja Soul. She had a completely different group of friends, but she acknowledged the fact that Ino had to keep her profile down. In fact, she was horribly shocked at the news of her liking of Ninja Soul, and didn't believe her until she signed up on the forum. She automatically recognized the exact same screen name she has on as the one that she used for IMing.

B_Cosmos: I'm going to bed now Shikamaru.

T_Fool: Okay. I'll see you tomorrow on the boards then Ino.

B_Cosmos: Thanks for introducing me.

T_Fool: Eh, it was nothing. At least this way we can still talk.

B_Cosmos: We've always had this thing!

T_Fool: Yeah, I know. Well whatever, you'll see how different it is tomorrow. Now go to sleep troublesome girl.

B_Cosmos: Yeah yeah, night Shika!

And that was the last one. Shikamaru Nara was her childhood friend who recently moved in with his girlfriend and their family to another city. He was 6 hours away, but he was happy, and she was happy for him. It just sucks that he had to move for this final year in highschool. It was amazing how he was able to convince his parents about the move as well. That guy was a smart ass, and a lazy bum who just complains all the time, but he was one of her best friends nonetheless. Actually, he's the one that got her addicted to Ninja Soul. Before he left he gave her a copy of the first issue, saying that she's going to love it...and strangely enough she did.

Ninja Soul is an on going manga series about a boy with the soul of a ninja. He lives this completely different life in the morning than he does at night. The series inspires her to try out new things, and not be afraid to take risks. And besides, the boy's older brother was pretty damn hot.

Anyways, having only read the first three out of the 10 out so far, she was a little hesitant on joining the forums, but both Sakura and Shikamaru were insistant, so she did it anyways. Little did she know the many doors she had just opened for herself.

Finally shutting off her computer she made her way to her soft bed and drifted into sleep in seconds.

---

As the sun finally reached the face of the sleeping blonde, the boy's ear twitched to the sound of his raging alarm clock. annoyed, he slammed his hand on the snooze button, only to realize that it was 8 o clock, and school started in 15 minutes.

"OH SHIT!" he yelled, quickly shooting up and running around to look for his uniform. It hadn't been the first time this happened and he was not about to let it happen again.

Quickly throwing his clothes on, he decided to forget about his jacket and pushed a curry bun into his mouth. Slamming the door shut behind him he decided to sprint towards the school. Being greeted by the many elderly women who also lived in the apartment, they all just laughed as he tumbled his way down the stairs.

"I'm going to make it!" he yelled, ignoring the chill that was activated by his sweat. But at that point he forgot about the bun in his mouth and so it fell. Saddened, he looked back to see it fall and roll into the streets, only to get run over right after. With a sigh, he decided to look back to what was before him, only to find another person there.

CRASH

"I-I-I-I'm s-sorry," he muttered quickly, only getting to see a bit of the one he bumped into. He had no time to make any more apologies, for he was already late. But from what he remembered, it was a girl, she was pretty, and she had teddy bear underwear. Quickly wiping his sweat, he made a run for it once more.

"Ino! You okay?" called out Amy, one of her friends.

Ino got up and cursed the heavens for fashion. Her coat gave little support for her fall, and her vanity allowed the boy that was in a rush to see her childish underwear. She doesn't remember ever seeing him before, and he looked like he was freezing in just a polo and a vest. Although she did think that the scars on his face in the shape of whiskers looked pretty adorable.

"I'm fine," she finally brought herself to answer, looking into the direction of which the boy was running. Maybe she'll see him again another day.

_**A/N: AND THERE WE GO. :D A bit short, but it's a start!**_


	2. Chapter 2

****

Forgiving Reality

Chapter 2: Ino Yamanaka and Naruto Uzumaki

_A/N: And here we go with chapter two!_

As soon as he entered his apartment, he locked the door behind him and ran to his laptop turning it on. As it loaded, he went over to his pathetic excuse of a kitchen and took out some ice from the fridge and put it in a bag.

"Ow," he muttered as the frozen surface touched his bruised cheek. With one hand he typed in his password and watched as his Ninja Soul desktop loaded. He had gotten into another fight and received with it another injury to his face. To his luck, he was able to recover quickly, so whenever he returned to school, his face was back in its normal state.

his eyes were in a trance as his hand went through his typical routine of opening the windows for IM and the boards. But ti wasn't until; his stomach made a noise that his eyes snapped out of such a trance.

"Ramen," he muttered, licking his lips. He walked over to his small kitchen and set his kettle on. It was bad, really, the stuff he lived off of. Iruka used to make sure that he had other stuff to eat. But luckily, since Naruto was always running around and getting into fights, he never became too fat from the instant noodle crap.

After setting his ramen in the hot water, he walked back over to his laptop with the cup and checked his personal messages.

"Hello again Blooming Cosmos," he muttered, a smile creeping onto his face. He decided to send her a message, asking to just add her on the IMing system since he had to patrol threads. And quickly enough she responded. With a light laugh he mixed his ramen noodles and put in her email address.

R_Warrior: Hey there newbie.

---

A smile crept onto Ino's face as she heard the ping from her computer. She decided to do some of her homework and just talk to this Ramen Warrior before posting more.

B_Cosmos: Hey there!

Chemistry could wait! This Ramen Warrior guy was the most talked about according to Shikamaru, and if Shikamaru liked him, then he has to be a cool guy.

R_Warrior: How are you enjoying the forums?

Wow, getting right to it. Shikamaru said he's only been on the forums for about a month, and yet he's this popular moderator that everyone loves. Ino tilted her head and wondered how this guy was in real life. A nerd who lives in his mother's basement? Or maybe he's her age as well? She should try asking Shikamaru later.

B_Cosmos: Only been a member for two days, but I'm enjoying them so far.

R_Warrior: That's good. :) If you ever need help, feel free to ask me.

Actually, since it was only 3 in the afternoon, she could potentially just interrogate the guy herself. Sharing little pieces of personal information probably isn't a new thing for him, plus, she's not going out today.

B_Cosmos: Yes, of course.

For the next five minutes she stared at the screen waiting for his reply, but it didn't come. She decided to shake it off and looked at her chem homework. He was proabbly a busy guy after all.

T_Fool: Hey Ino

B_Cosmos: Oh hey Shika!

T_Fool: So I heard that he added you

B_Cosmos: Really?

T_Fool: Yeah, me and him are best buds. He went to my school before I moved.

Ino's jaw hung open a little, so he was closer than she thought! Ino made this little challenge for herself, to make as many new friends as possible, especially since her current friends are becoming a nuissance. Sure, she brought it upon herself, dubbing herself Beauty Queen of the school, but it was about time that she managed real friends. But yeah right was she going to give that up right away, and especially right before she graduated. Anyways...

B_Cosmos: Oh, wow, what's his name?

T_Fool: Naruto Uzumaki.

She froze, that name sounded too familiar. However she just couldn't put her finger on who he really is.

B_Cosmos: Can you tell me more about him?

T_Fool: Uh...No. I'm going now, and you can just talk to him yourself! That guy is beyond friendly, especially considering who he was at school. I was a little surprised getting to know him over the boards, but I don't think he realizes that I went to the same school. Either way we ended up being best friends in the end anyways...kinda making me regret not befriending him while we were physically close to each other...it might've helped his situation.

B_Cosmos: What situation?

T_Fool: Uh, it's too troublesome to explain. I'm going now, I'll ttyl. Bye Ino.

B_Cosmos: ...Bye Shika.

The blonde growled at Shikamaru's laziness and bad timing. Now she was extremely curious. Staring at her screen, she noticed that this Naruto guy still didn't reply back. She grumbled and looked down at her chem work again, screw this guy, she's not making conversation if he's not interested.

---

"Yes!! That was an amazing finish!" the fox cried out, jumping in the air. The boards were a little slow today, so he decided to catch up on other anime he was behind on and ignore the massive piles of math he had left. Sometimes he wonders why he even took math considering that he's now failing it. Exams were approaching and he could really care less. After all, he was getting around an 80 in every other subject, and only because he'd work painfully hard on homework and studying when he couldn't bring himself to sleep. Also, to prove himself as a student. His teachers sort of gave up on him, and so has his guidance councillor. He still hasn't decided what he wanted to do, and uni applications were due soon. But all that could enter his mind were marks now, staying alive at school, and the boards. The boards being the only good thing.

After taking the anime off fullscreen, he noticed that the Cosmos girl had replied back. He bonked his head over, how could he forget to reply again?

R_Warrior: Sorry for not responding right away, I was a little busy.

B_Cosmos: Oh! Hey! Naw, it's okay, I'm a little busy as well. You keeping the forums in tact?

R_Warrior: Not really, they're kind of slow today. I was just watching anime.

He bonked his head again, yeah, tell the girl you ignored her for some anime, good job.

B_Cosmos: Oh, really? Don't you have any homework? I have a bunch of chemistry to finish today.

He blinked. Huh? They're going to talk about stuff besides anime and Ninja Soul? It was interesting seeing as they just started talking. Majority of his internet friends, especially the female ones, only talk to him about anime and video games. And how did she know to ask about homework?

R_Warrior: Uh, yes actually I do have homework to do. I just choose not to do it.

Yeahup, that's right. Tell her how much of a loser you are, you fail school to watch anime.

B_Cosmos: Oh wow, I wish I could do that, but my parent's check to see if I'm done my homework after dinner. Don't your parents do that too?

He hesitated a little before responding. He should tell her the truth...it's not like she can do anything, or that her stop talking to him over it would be a bad thing.

R_Warriors: My parents are dead.

---

Ino frowned at the screen. Sure, it was nice that he too was opening up, but wow does that really suck. It's amazing how he can be this really popular happy guy on the forums when something like that happened to him.

B_Cosmos: Oh, I'm sorry about that...

R_Warrior: Don't worry about it. Anyways, how did you know I had homework to do?

Oh shit. The blonde didn't realize that she only got the news from a different source, this totally made her look like a stalker.

B_Cosmos: Uh, Shikamaru told me that you went to his school.

The boy didn't respond back right away, so Ino stared at the screen hoping that he wasn't mad or anything.

R_Warrior: You know that lazy bastard?

The blonde couldn't help but laugh at the comment. Yeah, she had to agree that Shikamaru was in fact a lazy bastard.

"Haha yeah," she said out loud, saying what she was typing, "He's one of my best friends," it was fun. It's been a while since she made a friend and it was very refreshing the rush she was getting.

The two hit it off well, and within an hour Ino forgot all about her chem homework. The two talked about everything. How much life sucked, their favourite foods, their dreams -although Naruto was very vague on his-, even their favourite colour. She found out that even though his parents were dead, he had a pretty good care taker and managed to live a pretty normal life. She ranted on to him about her tough decisions growing up and the hardships of staying beautiful. It was a relief that that didn't scare him away, and he turned out to be a really good listener.

R_Warrior: I'm Naruto by the way.

It didn't hit her until now that they haven't even exchanged names yet. Oh well, better late than never.

B_Cosmos: Ino Yamanaka

R_Warrior: Pleasure to meet you Ino.

"Ino!" called her mother. The pale blonde cursed under her breath.

B_Cosmos: Mother is calling me. I'll talk to you later?

R_Warrior: Yeah, sure. Bye.

B_Cosmos: Bye!

---

He couldn't believe it. The girl he was talking to was the infamous Ino Yamanaka...his worst enemy's ex girlfriend.

**__**

A/N: I guess you may be a little confused on the whole school deal. I just realized now that I've been putting them on the north american schedule, so please bear with me on that little detail _ Now I changed the plot a little to make this go faster...hopefully I'll be posting another chapter up today. Also, sorry for the majority of it being in instant messaging, that's the only way for this to work hahaha. Good day to you!


	3. Chapter 3

**Forgiving Reality**

**Chapter 3: Canon Pairings**

_**A/N: Aww, no reviews yet? :( Merry Christmas everyone! Sorry this is really late. Christmas and boxing day shopping, what else can I say? xP**_

**---**

Naruto took a deep breath as he managed to finish his homework for the day. It was a miracle that he managed to finish everything but it was a good thing. He decided that he really needed to get somewhere with his life and made a new years resolution to try harder.

Putting down his pencil he stared at the screen of his laptop. It had been 3 hours since Ino left, and he had just been casually talking to other members of the forum. Everyone was talking about their Christmas plans. Hmm, Christmas? He didn't know what he was planning to do. He still had about two months anyways. Everyone spoke about getting away with family, some spoke about the excitement of not having school, and some even spoke of spending their whole time on the forums at home. This made him laugh to himself, some people may think that they were losers for spending time with no one but those who you can only reach over the internet, but whether they were physically with each other or not, that community was a family, and family spend time together.

B_Cosmos: You there?

His eyes automatically lit up when he heard a new ping. He felt himself smile a bit when she messaged him, but then the thought of her name bothered him.

"Ino Yamanaka," he muttered to himself. He remembered seeing her once, a long time ago. Back in freshman year, and she was dating Sasuke Uchiha. Back then they were actually friends, him and Sasuke. But after he awoke from his coma, he found Sasuke to be a changed man. He lead a gang at the school, and no one messed with him or anyone in that gang. Although sometimes they'd get out of line, and Naruto would step in. It was all for revenge of something, Naruto remembered, but they never had a conversation completely explaining it. This was the biggest step in making Naruto's highschool life miserable, and now he and Sasuke were rivals. Naruto kind of standing alone.

R_Warrior: Yeah, I'm here.

---

Ino smiled widely at his quick response. Her hair was down from its usual ponytail and she was delicately tapping on the keyboard, making sure that she wouldn't damage her newly polished nails.

B_Cosmos: Sorry that took a long time. We went out and then I had to do my homework. Then I painted my nails.

She laughed as she typed this, laughing at the very recent memory.

R_Warrior: That's good, what colour are they?

Surprisingly the boy was actually curious as to the colour of her nails. It was little things like this that made this Naruto guy more amazing in her eyes.

B_Cosmos: They're a shiny lavender colour. Purple is my absolute favourite colour, so practically every possible shade of it has been on my nails.

R_Warrior: Yeah, I know about the purple thing. See, I never really like the way orange looked with my skin so I never tried the stuff ever again xD

She giggled at his little joke. The boy sure knew how to make her laugh, and it's only been a day of talking. It was probably just the fire of a new relationship. See, Ino had a certain view of relationships. They go up in a straight line as you get to know each other, and for friends, it just stops at one point. But then, for others it would keep on going up into the dating area. She imagined that she could possibly stay in a straight line with Naruto, but he probably plateaus with everyone at one point.

B_Cosmos: You're funny, did you know that? The only boy who makes me laugh like this is Shikamaru.

R_Warrior: Haha, that guy cracks me up. I love how he's ridiculously smart, but he won't do shit.

B_Cosmos: I love his wit, and the way he makes fun of things.

Her relationship with Shikamaru came to a plateau when he found himself a girlfriend. She told herself she wouldnt make it go any higher in risk of becoming jealous of Temari, plus, it'd be reasonable to think of him as the brother she always wished she had.

R_Warrior: I really miss him at school.

B_Cosmos: Haha, I guess, but I'm sure you have a lot of other friends. You're really friendly.

R_Warrior: Thanks for that.

Yeah, she imagined that he was super popular at his school, although it's funny that she doesn't recall his name at all. Although, the only people she really knew from that school was Shikamaru, her friend Chouji, and her ex boyfriend Sasuke Uchiha.

B_Cosmos: So did you manage to finish your homework?

R_Warrior: Yeah, I just did actually. My eyes are burning like hell from staring at so many numbers. I can't believe I actually did something today.

B_Cosmos: Well I'm proud! It is your final year right? Better make sure you get the best marks you possibly can get.

She was doing perfectly fine in every class she had. Probably because of the whole, finish your homework and study before dinner so I can check it, situation she had going on.

So the two continued to talk for an hour or so, Naruto forgetting to plan his christmas break, Ino forgetting that it was time for dinner. The two were sharing stories, joking around, and opened up to each other like crazy. Ino's eyes were captivated by the screen, and needed to be dragged out of her room by her mother in order to come down for dinner. Naruto just laughed at her mother's message to him, and decided to cook up another cup of instant noodles.

"This Ino girl is interesting," he muttered to himself, "Kind of annoying though with all the girly stuff, but all in all she's a good person." It always felt good to know that the people on the forum he loved were awesome. And it always felt good to make a new friend, even if it was online.

As soon as his water boiled, he ran to the steaming kettle and poured the water into his cup. The boy really hated those 3 minutes you had to wait before the noodles were soft and ready, but for some reason his wait didn't seem as bad as before. Today he felt like he accomplished something, and this was after ignoring the bruise he had over his eye. It felt good, good enough to make him smile. Making new friends was always a good experience, and Ino's interest with him made him feel worth something, and it made him feel like himself. With a satisfied grin he chowed down on his instant noodles, burning his tongue on the first sip.

When he finished his "meal", that is after taking a fresh apple from his pathetic excuse of a fridge, he sat in front of his computer. He groaned to himself as he saw the many messages from a certain member of the board, the admin, asking him to break up a fight at the TsumatoxGigi VS. TsumatoxLeia debate thread. Sometimes people just get so heated about the pairings they believed in. Naruto, he was always for canon, so he hoped that he wouldn't seem too biased against the tsumatoxLeia group, which is obviously the less likely pairing of the two.

B_Cosmos: You support TsumatoxGigi?

He rose his eyebrow at the question. So she was back then?

R_Warrior: Of course, it's pretty much canon too. Why not?

B_Cosmos: I don't know...it just seems kind of boring doesn't it?

R_Warrior: Boring? Not exactly, they've had their fair share of drama, and Tsumato and Leia barely talk to each other!

B_Cosmos: Yeah, but they have so much in common, and when they do talk it's like magic! They're going to be the underdog pairing, and come up on us when we don't expect it!

R_Warrior: Hmph, sounds complicated. I don't think that's going to work. Tsumato and Gigi is a very straightforward relationship, and it's pretty obvious that Gigi is in love with Tsumato, and he just doesn't notice.

B_Cosmos: Ugh, but that's so typical!

R_Warrior: And what's wrong with that? Anyways, I'm not siding with anyone, I'm just there to break up the fight.

B_Cosmos: What's wrong is that it's boring. Love is supposed to be complicated!

R_Warrior: Love isn't going to happen between two characters that barely talk to each other.

B_Cosmos: They'll get a chance to! They'll talk more often and everything will fall into place!

R_Warrior: Yeah, and that's going to beat Tsumato and Gigi being CHILDHOOD FRIENDS.

B_Cosmos: Ugh, you just don't understand a romantic's heart!

R_Warrior: Um, I guess not?

B_Cosmos: Hmph, I'm going to go to bed now.

R_Warrior: Okay. Night

B_Cosmos: Night.

Naruto stared at their conversation and read it over twice. Was it just him, or was she angry?

**--**

__

**A/N: Yes! Another chapter done. XD!!**


End file.
